Microsoft adds social search features to Bing

Microsoft has revamped its Bing service to add social search functionality to the decision engine.

A new sidebar has been added to the site, displaying results from a user's Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Blogger and Google+ accounts alongside web hits.

The 'Friends who might know' feature enables users to post a question related to their search on another person's Facebook wall. An 'Activity feed' lets them join in a discussion to help with other people's queries.

"Research tells us that 90% of people consult with a friend or expert before making a decision - whether it's something as simple as which train will take you uptown or who is the best dentist in Boulder, other people are often the most trusted source of information," said Microsoft in a blog post.

"We value input from our friends and opinions from experts but at the same time want comprehensive, relevant and unbiased results."

Microsoft has also added a 'Snapshot' section to Bing, adding supplementary information to search results. This displays details on services related to web queries, such as maps and restaurant reservations.

Bing is estimated to have a 15% share of the US search market, some way behind market leader Google's 66% portion.